Daughter of Apollo
by Neathra
Summary: Neathra, a daughter of Apollo suddenly finds herself outside of Fort Dawnguard. She runs into Gunmar, and is recruited into the Dawnguard, after she hits attacking vampires with solar energy. But Neathra's demigod heritage, manages to get her into trouble, when it turns out she is needed to stop the vampires. Her to Do list? 1:Find Auri-El's bow. 2:Stop the vampires. 3:Get Home
1. Welcome to Skyrim

**Skyrim belongs to Bethesda, and Percy Jackson to Rick Riordan.**

* * *

I stared at the plains in front of me. One second I'm with my Mom touring some ancient ruins, laughing to myself at some of the myths, and the next I'm standing in mountain pass with only two safe ways out- forward or backwards.

Oh excuse me. I haven't introduced myself. My fault. My name is Neathra and I'm a demigod daughter of the Greek God Apollo. What that means is that while my Mom is a mortal, my father isn't; he is as I said before the Greek god Apollo. Because of my half divine nature, I have certain privileges as well as certain challenges. For example I'm an excellent archer as well as being able to attack with solar energy. However I have ADHD, dyslexia, and I should be wearing glasses for nearsightedness. Also during the summer I go to a special camp called Camp Half-Blood, where demigods can practice our abilities and fighting skills, as well as being safe from monsters who want to kill and eat us demigods.

My father generally has golden blonde hair and sky blue eyes. He can look however he wants, but that's how he generally looks when I get to see him. Which isn't that often as gods and goddesses tend to be really busy and don't have a lot of time to hang out with their kids. I have seen him more times than some of my half siblings thou, I've seen Father maybe three times. Most haven't ever met him at all. Naturally I get my archery talent, and solar energy control from Father. I also get my ADHD or battle reflexes, and dyslexia or my brain wanting to read Ancient Greek from him as well.

My Mom on the other hand didn't give me any powers or problems, and is as good of a mother as she can be. We fight and argue sometimes. However we always manage to talk it out and understand what set off the fight in the end.

Mom at least physically is the total opposite of Father. Brunet instead of blonde, Hazel eyes instead of blue, and pale skin instead of tan. From my Father I get my powers. From Mom I get my looks.

I'm barely five feet tall, with rebellious mud brown hair and mud brown eyes splattered with acid green. My skin refuses to tan. In fact it seems to delight in burning, something that has earned me sniggers from my siblings. After all, the Sun Gods daughter not being able to get a tan. Ha Ha. Well I'll be laughing at them when they get skin cancer, and I don't because I'm constantly covered in sunblock and they are constantly getting hit by UV rays.

Alright perhaps my hatred of my appearance isn't because I look bad but because all my siblings are tan blue eyed blonde haired kids. That and some of the other campers are kind of mean about me looking like Mom more then I look like Father.

However back to my current predicament. You know the one where I'm standing in a valley and either need to go forward or backward. Ok first thing I needed to do was get my bearings, so naturally I looked to the sun. Which felt strange. I mean it was familiar but still not like, like, like someone you haven't seen in a long time but you remember their face, or voice but not their name or personality. Which was strange because at home I knew the sun pretty well, but instead of feeling aloft the sun here felt warm and inviting. Huh.

Anyway using the sun as a point, I figured I was facing north. So I decided to head that way. I could also see smoke on the horizon and it was from a fire which probably meant people: so north it was. Once I found civilization I could ask where it was, and get provisions like arrows or food. Speaking of arrows I had a fair amount and if worst came to worst my bow could be used to bludgeon an enemy.

I drew an arrow and then stopped starting at it. Now normally my arrows have a wooden shaft, some sort of feathering at the end and the most important part, a celestial bronze arrow head, this arrow was had a different tip, it was murky green almost like glass. Quickly I checked all the arrows to find that yes, all of my celestial bronze arrows now appeared to be glass arrows. I shook my head. This couldn't stop me moving, I had no food, water or shelter, and couldn't spend time freaking out about my arrows. They should still work as a defense, even if they are glass.

I notched one of the arrows and started north. I was trying to go slow to not catch anything's eye, however being in a hurry to find shelter had me moving much faster than if normally want to go.

"HOWOOOOOOOO"

Hades! That meant wolves. And in all likelihood they weren't mostly friendly like Lady Artemis's wolves. I quickly placed my back up against a rock. They couldn't come from behind me now. Scanning the horizon I saw three shapes headed my way.

Pulling back the bow I let an arrow fly. One wolf down. Drawing a second arrow I aimed at a second wolf and shot. Another accurate shot. Suddenly the third wolf dropped dead.

Carefully incase the wolf hadn't just suffered a heart attack, I moved forward to examine the bodies. Two of them had my arrows, which I then recovered. After all they were still usable even if they were totally gross.

The third wolf was different. I recovered an almost miniature arrow from the body. However this arrow wouldn't or couldn't ever be shot from a bow.

I thought rapidly. What projectile weapon uses a miniature arrow like projectile? I should know this, I studied all types of projectile weapons; slingshots, crossbows, my bow, guns... CROSSBOWS. That was it, and that made the miniature arrow actually a crossbow bolt.

"Turn around slowly. Don't draw your bow." A rough voice said from behind me. Slowly I followed the voices instructions.

A tall man wielding a crossbow stood behind me. He had strange armor on. It was red and looked quilted. He had red hair as well. It was long enough to reach his shoulders and a small piece of it was braided on left side of his face. His skin appeared tan, but it was more of an 'I'm outside a lot' tan then an 'I suntan' tan. He was well muscled, a bit like the Hephaestus kids at camp, and on his belt an axe could be seen hanging.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

"Umm please don't shoot me. My name is Neathra, and I'm lost. I swear."

"You're not a vampire?" He pressed

"It's the middle of the day" I pointed out.

"Vampires can walk in daylight"

"How can I prove I'm not a vampire then?"

"My crossbow has an Anti-vampire enchantment. Maybe if I shot your fo-"

"Can I just touch the thing?"

"Fine. Just stand so I can shot you if you attack." I pricked my finger on the loaded bolt, and it bleed, nothing else. Gunmar side in relief. "We can't be too careful." He lowered the crossbow. "My name is Gunmar. You should come with me. You're a good archer, but a vampire would probably kill you." Relieved I wasn't in any eminent danger of being shot, I accepted his apology and followed him.

Gunmar it turns out, is a vampire hunter. Or more accurately he is the blacksmith for a group of vampire hunters called the Dawnguard. As we walked quickly into through the plans he told me that his family was killed by vampires and he wanted to protect others from that. I told him about my life. (The censored version. No gods.) That my Father was never around and how I was teased for looking like my Mom.

I also managed to get information out him about where I was. I was in a world called Tamriel, in a country called Skyrim. Currently we were in The Rift one of nine holds, that surrounded the land. Riften the capital was known for its Thieves Guild. The Dawnguard resided in Fort Dawnguard which was in Dayspring Canyon.

We arrived at the entrance to the Dayspring Canyon he led on and I followed.

The canyon had a grassy floor and trees littered the ground. I could see animals-mostly bunnies- running around the area.

As we headed to the Fort sounds of combat reached our ears. We turned to look at each other, and then we raced around the bends to see a huge commotion. People wearing the same armor as Gunmar and others wearing black or gray armor where fighting. Miniature Hell Hounds also attacked those who I guessed were the Dawnguard.

Drawing his axe Gunmar charged. Into the fray. I drew my bow and shot at the Hell Hounds and vampires, especially after one made a go at me.

My bow was doing little to no damage even with my natural and trained skill at it. So frustrated, I tried channeling solar energy into my arrows.

Normally I could glow if I really wanted or hit a hellhound with a small burst of heat. This was my first time trying to add my power to a weapon.

The arrow glowed with a soft golden light as I shot it at one of the vampires. It hit him in the left arm, but instead of just shaking it off, he snarled and tried to rip the arrow out of his arm. As he grabbed the arrow it glowed gold and his hand smoked. His eyes shot up, and locking on me I saw a flash of fear cross his face.

"Retreat we need to regroup! The girl is using Auri-El's power!"

With that he along with the other vampires and their hellhounds ran, quickly putting distance between them and the Dawnguard.

Who was Auri-El?


	2. Explanations, Dragonborn, and Propecies

**Skyrim belongs to Bethesda, Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan.**

**AN: I'll right, I got some questions about things. **

**I thought it was appropriate to answer said questions. (I have rewritten the questions.) Feel free to skip… **

**1: Why do I use Auri-El, not Akatosh? **

**Well, we know that Auri-El is the Elven name for Akatosh like Jupiter is the Roman name for Zeus. I decided to use Auri-El, because that is the form that the expansion pack Dawnguard uses (Auri-El's Bow is the big artifact for example), as the storyline is following Dawnguard I thought it was appropriate. **

**2: Why is Neathra's power so surprising light based magic is found in the Dawnguard questline?**

**The light based energy Neathra uses is different from light based magic in Skyrim. It's part of her demigod inheritance, and as such is immortal power, not magic, and besides, she didn't throw a bolt of light at the vampire, she fired an arrow that burned. **

**3: How did she burn the vampires with it when sunlight doesn't burn vampire in Skyrim?**

** I forgot… Ok but I came up with another idea. So the facts first. The sun and stars are actually holes into another dimension. So I figured that the light pouring out from them could be compared to warming your hands in front of a fire. When Neathra channels solar power however, being hit with the attack is like grabbing a coal out of the fire. So while you may feel warm near the fire, you hurt yourself by touching it. The same thing with the vampires, only it negatively effects them. The energy outpouring from the sun and stars, simply weakens a vampire. However being hit with it in a concentrated from is painful and damaging. I'm going with Auri-El's bow works on the same principle. Also, nobody will comment on Vampires not being hurt by sunlight. **

**Oh, and if I manage to mess up Elder Scrolls lore, it's because I'm new to the franchise. I try to research what I need to, but I might mess things up. I will try to get both worlds rules correct but I do reserve the right to fudge it for creative purposes. Hope nobody minds too much.**

**That makes me wonder, if the sun and stars are holes to the same dimension, why doesn't starlight effect vampires the same way as sunlight does. Same question about why vampires in our world can stroll around at night fine, but the same electromagnetic energy stars put out hurts them in the day.**

* * *

"Neathra, what? How? How did you do that?! Your bow isn't enchanted." Gunmar asked astounded

"You mean attacking with solar energy? I've always been able to do that. I mean I've always been able to conjure it. That was the first time I've forced it into a weapon. By the way who the Hades is Auri-El? What did that vampire mean by I was using his power? What were those Hellhounds doing here? And why in Olympus's name is everyone staring at me like have some kind of disease?"

Gunmar exchanged a glance with another member of the Dawnguard who I took to be his boss. Then several members came over and the Dawnguard held a rapid huddle; then they turned to me. Gunnar's boss spoke "You're obviously not from around here, and it seems you have some explaining to do." He seemed to have guessed I hadn't told Gunmar everything.

"Can we at least go inside?" I asked "My side of the story is rather long, and it would be nice to sit down." Another huddle began, and finally they turned to me.

"Ok" was the response.

"So you're saying you're from another universe?" Isran, asked and I nodded.

"In my world there are twelve major deities, I guess you would call them divines, and a whole bunch of minor ones. They live on in a palace on Mount Olympus. My dad is the god of archery, arts, medicine, and the sun. I have several have brothers and sisters. In fact the all the major deities except Hera- she's the goddess of Marriage- and my aunt Artemis - goddess of the wild, the moon, the hunt, and virgins- have kids."

"So your powers come from your father. And the archery?"

"A combination of practice and talent. Bye the way Hellhounds are pretty much the same as Death hounds, only they get bigger."

"Alright- I'm supposed to believe this because...?" I held out my bow. While my arrows had changed from Celestial bronze to glass, and the fiberglass in my bow was probably something else, the structure remained the same, and most importantly it was very different in design than the Skyrim bows I had seen.

"Gunmar can you take a look at this. I'm betting it's like nothing you've ever seen." As Gunmar examined the bow, I turned back to Isran. "So who is Auri-El? And what did that vampire mean that I was using his power?"

"Auri-El, is also known as Akatosh, is the chief of the Elven pantheon, he and Akatosh are sometimes shown to have separate powers and lore, such as Akatosh being the father of the dragons. Auri-El has a connection to the sun and archery, and helped create the mortal plane. From what you've told me, his domains seem similar to your father's."

"Ya, my father." I stared at my shoes. Someone cleared their throat behind me. Turning Gunmar had returned holding my bow carefully.

"Isran, I've never seen a bow made like this before; in fact I've never seen the material this bow was made of before." So maybe the fiberglass in my bow hadn't become something else. "Besides that, I've never seen any armor like the kind Neathra's wearing."

"I'm not wearing armor. I got dragged out of my dimension, during a trip with my mom. These are just my normal cloths."

"Nobody wears that kind of outfit for normal clothing either." Isran looked at me,

"Perhaps you are from another world, Neathra. Alright let's say I buy your story. What now?"

"Well, I'm looking for a way to get home, but I need something to do until I find it. Could I work with the Dawnguard until then? I'm good against vampires."

"That's another thing. How did you do that trick with the bow? It would be good if I could teach my hunters how to attack like that."

"I thought I already explained. I've always been able to. A perk of being a daughter of Apollo I guess." I shrugged, "Besides one of the others told me that light magic isn't that uncommon, in this occupation. What's so special or surprising about what I did?" Gunmar and Isran stared at me as though I had grown wings or something. I turned checking – you couldn't be too sure with the Greeks, and I didn't know how active the Divines were. When I was certain I was still normal, I turned back "Why are you looking at me like that – again?" It was Gunmar who spoke,

"Neathra, I wouldn't call what you did out there, light magic, more like, channeling the powers of the sun, into an arrow. Your bow either had one exceptional enchantment, or something divine happened. Your bow doesn't have an enchanted aura, so it had to be the second one. It's no wonder the vampires beat a hasty retreat."

"Oh." I looked at my feet again. "Well can I help? I'd really like to spend my time here productively. Besides when I die, I want some really awesome experiences to freak out the judges! Never mind." I added when I saw the looks on their faces.

"Well, that was interesting" A new voice echoed through the room.

"Alora don't shout." Hissed another voice. Turning I saw two women in the doorway. The first woman who had spoken leaned against the doorway, her armor was tight, black, and formfitting, a black cape hung down her back, the hood pulled down. She was the one who had spoken first. Her companion, was a slightly short woman, who was wearing red armor that also had a long cloak, was standing more in the entrance of the door. Alora – the first woman – rolled her eyes

"Oh, please Serana, if I had shouted, you would defiantly know. I simply raised my voice." She walked over, holding out her hand "I'm Alora the Dragonborn, this is Serana, my friend, and you are?"  
"Um, Neathra, I'm from another world." I shook her hand "What's Dragonborn?"

"Hmm, I have dragon blood, can absorb dragon souls, and can learn Thu'um really fast. I'm pretty well known in Skyrim after defeating Alduin, last year." Alora explained. I gave her a blank look.

"I'm sorry, but who is Alduin?" Alora shot Isran a look,

"She is definitely from another world. After recent events even the hold guards know who I am, and they definably know who Alduin was." She turned back to me "Alduin was a big scary black dragon that could eat dead souls in Sovagarde – that's the afterlife for heroes." She returned to Isran "I got you a moth priest. His name is Dexion Evicus, and he's waiting for you in the main hall to read Serana's Elder Scroll. Neathra I'll explain later. Come on guys, let's go." She turned and left, followed by Serana, Isran, Gunmar, and them myself.

This was the world I had been dropped into. A world where the closest thing to a demigod is a dragonborn, the world where vampires exist, and where there are vampire hunters. For once I was the person without any idea what was going on.

I reentered the main chamber, to find the rest of the Dawnguard there waiting. Alora jerked her head in a "hurry up" fastion, and I quickly joined the group. Alora smiled at the man who was holding a large gold scroll, and said "Ok, Dexion, everybody's here. Can you read the scroll now?" He nodded

"Of course, Miss Alora." He opened the Scroll, and there was some sort of flash; at the same time as the flash, a sharp pain ran through my head. I grabbed my head, until the pain stopped, looking up I saw everyone else staring intently at Dexion. He was speaking.

"… A voice whispers, saying "Among the night's children, a dread lord will rise". In an age of strife, when dragons return to the realm of men, darkness will mingle with light and the night and day will be as one." The voice continues "A stranger to this world, a child of the sun, will be the one to hold the bow of dawn."  
Now the voice fades and the words begin to shimmer and distort. But wait, there is more here. The secret of the bow's power is written elsewhere. I think there is more to the prophecy, recorded in other scrolls. Yes, I see them now... One contains the ancient secrets of the dragons, and the other speaks of the potency of ancient blood, and of golden blood.  
My vision darkens, and I see no more. To know the complete prophecy, we must have the other two scrolls."

He turned to Alora "I need the other two scrolls to continue." She nodded thinking

"I know where the one where the scroll of the secrets of the dragons is, but I have no idea about the other one. Do you Serana?"

"My mother most likely has it." Her fingers tightened a little. That was something I knew: parent issues. However the scroll highlights Neathra as a needed figure." I absentmindedly nodded.

"Golden blood could mean ichor. In my world, it's the blood of immortals. It's literally gold, and all demigods have a little mixed in with our normal blood."

Alora clapped her hands. "Then its settled. Serana, Neathra and I need to work together on this quest. Serana, come on, we need to get to the Collage. I gave the scroll to the librarian" They left. I then turned to Gunmar.

"Is there somewhere I could sleep tonight? I don't really have anywhere to stay." He nodded, and then pointed.

"There should be some cots that way." I thanked him and then found a cot and fell asleep.

* * *

**So chapter done, thank you for reading. Alora has completed the main quest. Dragonborn hasn't happened yet. I've got some solely Skyrim ideas for Alora, including a journal like list of everything that happens after all the DLC's and the main game are complete, and one of her dealing with the Blades. (Paarthanax is like a dad to her.) **


	3. A Horse, a Ruin, and a Stupid Idea

**Skyrim belongs to Bethesda, Percy Jackson belongs to Rick Riordan. **

**Hi everyone! I'm back. Hope you like the new chapter. I'm trying to keep Alora out of the story as much as possible, because she is a bit Mary sueish. Well she is based on a Skyrim player character…**

* * *

By the time I had woken up the next morning Alora and Serana had already left. In fact they had left, almost immediately after our chat with the moth priest and the reading of the Elder Scroll.

"Why'd they leave without me? I'm part of the prophecy!" I complained to Gunmar over breakfast.

"Neathra, first they're headed to the magic collage in Winterhold, to get the first Elderscroll from a friend of Alora's. Then immediatly after that they will be sneaking into Castle Volkarie. They need small numbers for speed and stealth. Besides," he added as I opened my mouth to complain again, this time that i was stealthy as any dragonborn, "Serana doesn't have the best relationship with her mother. So she'd rather just has a close friend like Alora with her." I glared at my breakfast and poked it with a fork. "Look Neathra, why don't you go ask around to see if you can do anything helpful?" I sulked away from breakfast.

I had never been picked to go on a quest; I was never taken along. And here in Skyrim, all I could do was sit hopelessly by while Alora did everything, and got the glory. As if she didn't get enough from slaying Alduin, or rescuing Dawnstar from nightmares, or any of her other exploits.

"We'll it's about time someone asked!" The woman who worked our 'general store' exclaimed when I glumly inquired if I could do anything to help. "Alora used to fetch blueprints, or go after a vampire for us, but now she's off saving the world again, those tasks aren't being done." She held out a hand "here let me see your map. There's some blueprints for some sort of exploding arrow, not as powerful as the bolts, but powerful. Their located in a Dwemer ruin just to the north of Riften. The ruins name is Mzulft." I nodded,

"Should I be on the lookout for anything?"

"Yes, Dwemer automatons, the falmer, and vampires. They've been seen in the area recently."

"Falmer? What are they?"

"Well," she sighed, "The falmer are what's left of the snow elves after the dwemer got through with them. They're blind, but have great hearing and are known for brutally killing anyone from the surface."

"Ok, I'll be careful. Seen you then." I turned, and headed out.

Once I left the fort, I broke into a run. If I could reach Riften early, I could probably borrow a horse from the stables. As I left Dayspring Canyon I put my head down, for extra momentum, and slammed into a wall of black horse. Backing up, rubbing my nose, I saw a large black horse, with red eyes looking down at me. A scrap of paper was fixed to her saddle, and she seemed bored. Carefully I grabbed the scrap of paper, reading the note scrawled on it.

_Dear Neathra,_

_This is Shadowmere, she's my horse. Serana and I caught a ride from a friend of mine. Shadowmere didn't really like it, but anyway, we needed to go faster than she can run. You can borrow her until we get back. If she tried to bite, you can bribe her with the carrots in her saddlebag._

_Sincerely,_

_Alora the Dragonborn, Guildmaster, Listener, Harbingers, Arch-Mage, Thane of the Nine Holds, and Legate to General Tullius._

_PS, Don't buy anything from Brynjolf. He's not exactly honest, about prices._

_PS, PS: I cleared out Muzleft last month, so don't worry about anything inside it. Do keep an eye out for vamps._

I slowly breathed in, scrunching the note in my hand. Alora was a genuinely nice, if somewhat irritatingly perfect, person. It really wasn't her fault that she was a natural leader who also happened to be the ultimate dragonslayer, and was pretty good at learning and mastering new things. Nor was it her fault she was pretty, and half the men in Skyrim were in love with her. No being mad at Alora for who she was, was like being mad at Percy for bring Percy: useless.

I took another deep breath, then pulled myself up into Shadowmere's saddle. Turning away from Riften, I galloped toward Muzleft.

Alora had been right about having cleared out Muzleft. As I poked around through the ruins all I found were some broken automatons. At first they looked like they had been stabbed, most likely by Alora. However soon i came to an area where the automatons had been ripped apart, and shredded as though by a powerful monster. I moved more carefully after that. Whatever it was could still be around. I didn't see it however and after a while the stabbed automatons came back.

Soon after I passed the remains of a large monstrous automaton, I found a small chest with the plans in it. By the time I managed to get out of the ruins, it was dark. That was mostly due to hitting the wrong lever on the lift, which then broke, dropping down, and I ended up in the bottom of the ruins with no visible way back up.

Rather than venturing out bravely into an unmapped segment of the ruin, I tilted me head up looking at the long tunnel leading up and out. Gear sided structures traveled up on all sides of the lift. Maybe I could climb them like a ladder.

Halfway back up I realized that, my idea was stupid: really stupid. Sure, with my feet on solid ground, and the danger of the unknown black pressing in, climbing up the guide rails, had seemed like a breeze, as oppressed to whatever was out there.

Now, with my feet dangling down into blackness, and my fingers barely gripping a smooth edge, I was having second thoughts. Too late second thoughts.

"Ok," I gasped as I pulled myself up another rung, "God of Surviving Stupid Ideas, please help me get out of here."

Finally I pulled myself over the final rung and into the real world. Collapsing, on the ledge, I dragged myself farther out of the hole.

"I'm never listening to that little voice in the back of my head again." I moaned, flat on my back. My arms, chest and legs burned, almost as bad as the time I managed to fall off the top of the Lava wall. I missed the lava, and managed not to break anything, but I was bruised all over for at least a week.

Finally I sat up groaning. I needed to get back to Fort Dawnguard, and I was in no condition to fight. I limped over to Shadowmere, who had a look of what could be pity on her face as I dragged myself into her saddle.

"Let's get back to Fort Dawnguard." I sighed, pulling the reigns gently.

The next thing I knew was a black bag had been thrown over my head, and I was dragged off of Shadowmere. Voices shouting about catching "Imperial dog" or "The Traitor of Skyrim" flew around.

"Catch the horse!" someone new shouted. Shadowmere whined in response and I happily heard her hoof beats galloping away.

"Who are you?" I yelled, struggling against the hands holding me. "What the Hades is going on?"

"Oh, Alora," a voice snarled near my ear, "You know exactly what's going on."

"I'm not Alora!" I shouted, but they ignored me.

* * *

**So, Alora has managed to get Neathra into trouble. Don't worry, she'll get her out of it. Can anyone guess who kidnapped Neathra? It was going to be our favorite elven nazi alagories, but is it still? Ok, it's the Stormcloaks. Personally I side with the empire in Skyrim. I think the racism turns me off. But enough about my game play.**

**Please review (I love reading your comments.) if you like or dislike the story. Constructive criticism is always welcome.**


	4. Ranting, Fying, and Lots of Talking

**So while Serona and Alora are sneaking around Castle Volkihar, Neathra's being dragged around Skryim by the Stormcloaks. Pity them when Alora gets around to showing up. **

**Skyrim belongs to Bethesda and Percy Jackson to Rick Riordan. **

**Also Special note. I used walkthrough by TESWiki Dawnguard ( /PlZQauEEnIU) to copy some quest dialog directly. That extra specially belongs to Bethesda.**

* * *

I couldn't tell how long my world was black, but it was for some time as after, they removed the bag, and I could see that I had been dragged into a hall of some kind, and was tied to a chair.

"She isn't Alora." A blonde man in front of me said to his companion, a man with what looked like a wolf's pelt jacket.

"I don't know how this happened Ulfric, but it must have... She was riding Alora's horse." He scratched his head. Since it seemed they weren't about to kill me, I felt a little better. The fact that they also seemed to have grabbed me by mistake also made me feel better. The blonde man - Ulfric - gave me a second look over.

"I don't understand either. Alora's about a head taller than her, and has red hair. Even in the dark, where the red hair could be hard to see, she again, is taller." As they both fell silent, I spoke up.

"Umm, who are you two, and where am I?"

Ulfric looked at me for a third time before answering "I'm Ulfric Stormcloak the Jarl of Windhelm, and this is Gulmar my housecarl. You're currently in Windhelm. But who are you, and why were you riding the Dragonborn's horse?"

"I'm Neathra, and Alora lent me her horse. But I have no idea where she is right now. Why were you trying to kidnap her anyway?"

Ulfric then launched into a long winded rant about how Alora had turned against freedom or something like that. From what I could piece together, it went something like this.

Around twenty years ago, a group of psychotic elves had attacked a country named Cyrodiil - which was the heart of an Empire Skyrim was a part of. The ensuing war had been settled with something called "The White Gold Concordat". Anyway this treaty had outlawed the worship of some deity named Talos. Since Skyrim was basically Talos's homeland, the residents of Skyrim weren't very happy with this law. So about three years ago, Ulfric started a rebellion to throw the empire out of Skyrim, but it turned out his forces and the empires were pretty evenly matched. The war dragged on, until Alora just showed up in Skyrim about a year ago. She pretty much ended the war in a week, in the Empire's favor. So now, Ulfric and the remaining Stormcloaks were trapped in the city Windhelm. But with Alora off dealing with another world ending crisis -they seemed to happen a lot around here-, the war had ground down to a halt again. The whole idea to kidnap Alora had been a last ditch attempt to break the deadlock in the Stormcloaks favor. Personally I didn't see how he and Gulmar had been planning to capture Alora, let alone hold her, but I kept that to myself.

As Ulfric finished ranting, a loud roar filled the air followed by a deadened explosion. Ulfric and Gulmar jumped, and I tried to jump too; however being tied to a chair meant I just sort of shuffled across the floor.

A few seconds later, the doors flew open and I was very glad to see Alora standing between them, a cloak of dripping fire wrapped around her.

"Ulfric, Gulmar. Lovely to see you again. I need to grab Neathra. Thank you for watching her."  
She said it like a mother picking her daughter up from a playdate, not rescuing me from kidnappers.

"Ahh.." Ulfric backed up and stared as Alora strode across the hall, then place one hand on my bonds. Flames licked around her fingers burning through the rope. Then she offered me a non-flaming hand.

"Come on Neathra. We have some evil vampires to stop."

"Wait just a minute." Gulmar drew his axe, "You don't think you're about to walk out of here, do you?" Ulfric backed up shaking his head as a warning. Alora's eyes glowed inhumanly as she turned to face Gulmar

"Well, I did just walk in. Turns out that most Stormcloaks run in terror at the sight of me." She calmly drew a curved sword. As a soft purple light flickered up and down the blade, the strange light flickering in the back of her eyes brightened. "So, do you want to fight me?"  
Gulmar gulped and backed off.  
Alora turned on her heel, and strode out of the hall. I ran after her.

"You basically ended a stalemate in-" I cut off my question as we entered the courtyard. A massive dragon was standing there; impatiently the head scanned the surrounds. Serona was gingerly sitting on the great back.

"Ahh, Dovahkiin, you took longer than originally planned." The dragon's voice was deep, bass, and very masculine; so I decided the dragon must be a male dragon. Alora rolled her eyes,

"Krosis Odahviing."

Serona leaned over Odahviing side, "Come on, we need to get to Darkfall Cavern soon. My father isn't about to suddenly decide to take a break from trying to turn off the sun."

"Let's go then." Alora pulled herself up onto the dragon's back. "Need a hand Neathra?"

"No thanks." I pulled myself up behind both of them. "So, what have you too been doing while I was getting tied up?"

Alora shrugged "Nothing much. We just infiltrated Castle Volkihar, opened an inter dimensional gateway, beat an immortal dragon- who has BTW decided I am awesome- got the needed Elder Scroll from Serana's mom, were threatened by the College's librarian when we got the other scroll from him, went to a lovely grover to find a bunch of moths to help read said scrolls, read them, fought off a horde of vampires, and located where Auriel's bow is. Then I called Odahviing again, and returned to Fort Dawnguard to get you, but had to track you all over  
Skyrim**(1)**."

"That's nothing much?" I felt like dropping my head into my hands. Serana chuckled.

"I said the same thing after she told me about her adventure defeating Alduin. Apparently going to the afterlife is also no big deal."

Alora crossed her arms, "I thought you guys were in a hurry. Odahviing you know where to go, can we go?"

Flying dragon back was just as awesome as flying with a Pegasus: even if it was faster. We flew so fast that it felt like my face was peeling off. Eventually, we landed outside a small dark cave. Before we could enter Alora turned to face us, sizing me up.

"Ok everyone," Serana coughed "Excuse me, Neathra. I'm not sure what's in there. Stay behind me, stay low, and for Oblivion's sake don't touch anything - I don't have the time to rescue you again."

"I'm not new to things trying to kill me Alora. I'll be careful." she nodded and we crept into the cave.

* * *

I didn't see the spider until it was too late. To be fair, Alora and Serana didn't either. We slunk along a dark damp cave, eyes straining to see in the dark. I fought my natural urge to begin glowing to provide some light.

One minute I was creeping along at the back of the line, then next ice ran through my veins when something bit me. I shouted as the massive spider hit me, knocking me over. I got a very good look at glistening fangs and beady black eyes. I tried to reach for my bow, but it was pinned under me. As the thing lunged again, there was a nasty squelch and it went limp.

Alora then hauled it off me, pulled a knife**(2)** out of it and then helped me up.

"You alright?" I nodded mutely "I'm sorry Neathra. I should have noticed it." Alora apologised as she checked me over. After she was sure I actually was alright (or more accurately after she had used a healing spell on me) Alora allowed us to continue on our way - with the change of me walking between Serana and herself.

It took about fifteen minutes for us to come to the fork in the tunnel. Alora didn't hesitate before taking the right tunnel. Apart from that giant spider and the three of us, the cave was deserted. Eventually after crossing a worryingly creaking bridge we hit a dead end.

"Maybe we took the wrong tunnel?" I tentatively suggested, Serana shook her head as Alora growled

"But this way smells right."

"Could the water be throwing you off?" Serana asked gesturing at the underground river.

"I know what water smells like Serana. This path smelled older."

"As in it is older?"

"No as in there is something old this way. Old and powerful."

"We must have missed a turn." I said heading back across the bridge. With a snap, the planks gave way beneath me. I shrieked as I plunged toward the river. Above me Alora shouted what could only be a vicious curse as she and Serana jumped in after me.

The river swept us along, battering us against rocks and rapids, as we traveled further into the cave. Suddenly I was falling and landing in a deep pool. A few seconds later, as I swam to the surface, Alora and Serana catapulted over the waterfall. I clambered out of the underground lake, and then helped pull the others out.

"Uggg, more spiders." Alora groaned before drawing her sword. As its purple sheen flickered in the darkness I could see the beady black eyes of several large spider; Lightning crackled around hers hands. I drew my bow nocking an arrow.

Suddenly Alora moved, her blade dancing through the darkness. Sharps hisses and shrieks came from the spiders as they fell. Serana waved a hand and one pulled itself back up, before launching itself at the living spiders. I fired arrows at black beady eyes, unsure of whether I hit my targets. Between the three of us the spiders didn't last long.

Alora returned to our side.

"Here. These where your arrows." She handed me several. "I couldn't find any others." Then Alora took a deep breath through her nose. "Well, at least this little adventure moved us along. The scent is stronger down here. Come on!" She jogged down the stream that flowed out of our landing place. I looked over at Serana

"Is she part bloodhound as well as dragon?" all I got was a secretive smile

"Sure, part bloodhound**(3)**. Let's go with that." Then she ran off after Alora. I followed.

It was about fifteen minutes later, that we arrived at a ruined camp. I gagged and covered my nose as the smell of the decomposing body hit me. Serana and Alora didn't even flinch at the sight of the body. Serana carefully picked up a gore stained note from next to the woman.

"She tried to live peacefully among trolls. That was stupid. "

"Back up." Alora warned, "I'm going to cremate the body. It's the right thing to do." Serana and I moved further away from the body. Alora muttered something under her breath and made a handsign over the body. It burst into flame.

After the woman had burned, Alora searched around the room ignoring the other tunnel.

"We have a tunnel Alora. Is it the wrong way?" I finally asked after several minutes of this.

"No, but I can smell that ancient and powerful thing is right behind that wall" She pointed at a solid wall of rock, "When I looked closer I found that there is a hidden door, and now I'm trying to find how to open it. Look around here for a button or a pull chain." Serana ended up finding the chain behind the camp's bed.

Part of the wall Alora had indicated pulled back and slide down revealing a room filled with sunlight. A tall man with white hair and very pale skin stood in front of a gold sun, praying to some deity. As we approached, he turned toward the three of us saying

**(4)**"Come forward, you have nothing to fear." then after a moment he continued "I am Knight- Paladin Gelebor. Welcome to the Great Chantry of Auri-El." Alora raised an eyebrow

"This cave is a temple to Auri-El?" Gelebor nodded

"Auriel, Auri-El, Akatosh, so many different names for the sovereign of the snow elves."

"Snow Elves? You're a Falmer?" He winced

"I prefer snow elf. The name 'Falmer' usually holds a negative meaning to most travelers. Those twisted creatures you call Falmer, I call the Betrayed."

"I imagine you know why we're here."

"Of course. You're here for Auriel's Bow. Why else would you be here? I can help you get it. But first I must have your assistance."

"What type of assistance do you need?"

"I need you to kill Arch-Curate Vyrthur… My brother" Alora gagged, Serana's face went blank and my mouth fell open. This guy wanted us to kill his brother!? After a moment or two of shock, Alora managed

"Kill your brother, why?"

"The kinship between us is gone. I don't understand what he's become, but he's no longer the brother I once knew. It was the Betrayed… They did something to him, I just don't know why Auri-El would allow this to happen."

"What exactly did the Betrayed do?" Alora sounded softer, more gentle than she usually did: a more comforting voice. Gelebor looked down at his feet.

"They swept into the Chantry without warning and began killing everyone without pause."

"Didn't you fight back?"

"The Chantry was a place of peaceful worship. I lead a small group of paladins, but we were no match for the Betrayed sheer numbers. The slaughtered everyone and stormed the Inner Sanctum where I believe they corrupted Vyrthur."

"You don't even know if he's alive?" I finally cut in. Alora looked slightly put out**(5)**, before Gelebor turned to me answering

"He is, I've seen him." He then turned back to Alora "But something's wrong. He never looks as though he's in pain or under duress. He just… stands there and watches, as though he's waiting." Alora raised an eyebrow

"Have you tried getting into the Inner Sanctum?" Gelebor shook his head

"Leaving the wayshrines unguarded would be violating my duty as a Knight-Paladin of Auriel. And an assault on the Betrayed guarding the Inner Sanctum would only end with my death." Mid eyeroll something caught Alora's attention

"Wayshrine?" Gelebor nodded

"Yes let me show you." he turned away from us, his hands glowed with magic. He walked over to a small white dome. On its top, made of the same white stone was a sun in the same shape, as the shrine.

As he clenched a glowing fist, a pulsation of light and force radiated out from it. The sun on the dome responded with a similar blast. Then slowly, the dome rose from the ground revealing a pavilion. As Gelebor turned back to us, Serana poked her head into the wayshrine,

"This structure is known as a wayshrine. They were used for meditation and for transport when the chantry was a place of enlightenment. Perlates of these shrines were charged with teaching the mantras of Auri-El to our initiates." he explained.

"What's that basin in the center signify?" Serana asked, walking down the steps of the shrine. Gelebor turned slightly to face her,

"Once the Initiate completed his mantras, he'd dip a ceremonial ewer in the basin at the wayshrine's center and proceed to the next wayshrine."

"So these Initiates had to lug around a heavy pitcher of water. Marvelous. How long would they have to do that?"

"Well, once the Initiate's enlightenment was complete, he'd bring the ewer to the Chantry's Inner Sanctum. Pouring the contents of the ewer into the sacred basin of the Sanctum would allow him to enter for an audience with the Arch-Curate himself."

"All that just to end up dumping it out? Makes no sense to me."

"It's symbolic. I don't expect you to understand." Gelebor grumbled in a flat voice. Serana shook her head,

"So let's get this straight. We need to do all that nonsense to get into the temple, so we can kill your brother and claim Auriel's Bow?"

"I know how it all sounds, but if there was another way I'd have done it long ago." he turned back to face Alora, "The only way to get to my brother is by following in the Initiates' footsteps and traveling from wayshrine to wayshrine just as they did. The first lay at the end of Darkfall Passage, a cavern that represents the absence of enlightenment."

So," Alora said after a minute, "how many wayshrines are there?"

"There are five in total, spread far apart across the Chantry." Alora groaned

"Naturally, but then these caves must be massive." Gelebor chuckled, but whether it was at her comment, or complaining wasn't clear,

"Caves? Oh, no. The Chantry encompasses far more than a few caves, as you'll soon discover. But before I send you on your way, you'll need the Initiate's Ewer." From nowhere, he pulled a silver pitcher, and handed it to stuffed it into her backpack. I asked

"So we need to fill this at each wayshrine?"

"Once you've located a wayshrine, there will be a spectral Prelate tending to it. They will allow you to draw the waters from the shrine's basin as though you've been enlightened." Alora nodded

"We'll be off then." Gelebor nodded

"This may be the last time we're able to converse. If you have any questions before you leave, I suggest you ask them. Otherwise, all I can do now is grant you my hope for a safe journey."**(6)**

Suddenly Alora was digging through her pack, and pulling out a quill, some ink, and several rolls of blank parchment asked "Actually, as a member of both the College of Winterhold, and the Bard's college, I have a few questions about the history of Snow Elves, and this place. Do you mind?" Gelebor blinked at her, and then nodded

"Ask away." It was a few minutes later that Alora dumped her writing supplies back into her bag. In that time they had spoke about, and Alora had scribbled furiously about the way the Chantry worked, the nature of the deal with the dwarves, and what were the spectral Prelates. "That's it thank you." Alora turned to Serana and I, "Ready to go?"

"I'm ready."

"For ages." Alora lead the way into the wayshrine. The back wall was pitch black, apart from a few glowing pink flowers. It was definitely a portal of some kind. Without pausing, Alora stepped into the blackness. Serana and I followed.

* * *

**1 - Gulmar had taken the long way to Windhelm. **

**2- Just because the game won't LET her throw knives, doesn't mean Alora CAN'T.**

**3- Werewolf, Part Bloodhound, is there really a difference?**

**4- This is where the copy quest dialog begins. Quotes are no longer my own. At most I've changed a word or two, and/or the speaker. **

**5-This was the first time anyone had ever interrupted Alora. For some reason most people couldn't interrupt her while she was speaking, or thinking for that matter. **

**6- Quest dialog temporarily ends here. It will restart later on at the boss battle. Which is next chapter. **

**Man this was frustrating to write. SO MANY ESTABLISHED CHARACTERS. I do hope I did keep everyone in character. Please mention it to me if I didn't. **

**Next chapter I get to go over the beauty that is the Forgotten Vale. Woohoo, and we get a pretty Badda$$ fight scene. It shall be fun. As soon as I get myself of Guild Wars enough to write it. **


End file.
